Appendix 4

 

Rubenstein, R. E. in When Jesus Became God, 1999, Harcourt, in p. 231 concludes his book saying:

 

“Soon, most of the Eastern world would come under the domination of a new religion offering another interpretation of Jesus’ nature and mission. The Islamic Jesus was not the incarnate God of Nicene Christianity or the super-angelic Son of the Arians. In the view of the Muslim conquerors, he was a divinely inspired man: a spiritual genius ranking with the greatest prophets, Moses and Muhammad himself. Apparently, this teaching struck a chord among large numbers of easterners who still thought of God as unitary, and who had not fully accepted Jesus’ incorporation into the Godhead. This may explain why, in the Middle East and North Africa, “the whole [Christian] structure was swept away in a few decades by the Arab tribes and their clear Moslem [Muslim] doctrine of One God * ”

 

“With the ascension of Islam, Arianism as a discrete religious philosophy disappeared in the East as well as in the west. But the great question that had generated the controversy over Jesus’ divinity remained – and remains yet – to haunt the imagination and provoke the conscience of humankind.”

 

* Johnson, Paul. A History of Christianity. N.Y. Atheneum, 1976, p. 93.

 

This view seems “to be exploded” by practicing American-born Muslims, students also of “comparative religions”, which now are presenting “studies” such as: “Christ – A Prophet of Islam”, here is their speech: “Explore the persona of a prophet of Islam, Issa, as a possible alternative account of Jesus in the New Testament. Use the primary source of Islamic belief, The Quran [Koran, Qur'an, Q’uran, Coran, Corán] as well as the New Testament. No prior knowledge of Islam is necessary. Approach this subject from an objective, neutral perspective.”

About Rubenstein’s conclusion: It has been the human “imagination” both for Arians and for Athanasians, instead of trusting in God’s Word, which has bring the trinity and all its doctrines, including the idea that Jesus Christ is God. Rubenstein’s conclusive comment regarding “imagination” is very different to what we read in the Bible: “This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination (Heb. bis-ha-rirut, Gk. entumemasi) of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing” (Jer. 13:10), “because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations (Gk. dialogismos), and their foolish heart was darkened, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Rom. 1:21-22), “for though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations (Gk. logismos), and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled” (2 Cor. 10:3-6).

The Quran, was written ~600 years later than the writings of the New Testament.

“Koran (Arabic Quran, from qaraa, “to read”, “a recitation”), also spelled Alcoran, the supreme body of Islamic law, the sacred scripture of Islam, meant to be chanted or sung as part of Islamic worship. The name was applied by Muhammad [Mohammed, Ahmad, Ahmed, Mohamád, Mahoma, al-Amin (“the trusted one”),  the Praised One] to each individual portion of the “revelations”, which according to Muslim beliefs, were received from Allah, but the name was later used for the book containing all of them. Whenever Muhammad told of his revelations, secretaries wrote them down and his followers memorized them, completing the Koran few years after Muhammad’s death, in 632. An authorized version was produced in the early 650s by a group of Arabic scholars under Uthman ibn Affan, which antagonized the Islamic preachers by issuing an official text of the Koran, with an accompanying order to destroy all other versions, but some survived and are now accepted. Rebellious Muslim troops from al-Kufah (Iraq) and Egypt besieged Uthman in Medina and assassinated him in 656. Commentaries on the Koran are numerous; the library in Tripoli, Lebanon, reportedly contains 20,000 commentaries” ("Koran," 1994, Microsoft Encarta).

“Muhammad proclaimed his own message, the Koran, to be the last revealed Book (as its splintering Bahai now think of “the Bayan”, foundation of their new “Babel”), and himself to be the last of the prophets, consummating and superseding the earlier ones. Muhammad initially granted Jews and Christians religious autonomy as “peoples of the Book,” whose revelations anticipated his own. Important elements from Judaism and Christianity were incorporated into Islam, but it was mainly rooted in the pre-Islamic Arabic traditions. In Mecca (Arabic Makkah; ancient Macoraba, Makoraba), a religious center before the time of Muhammad, Muslims also celebrate the offering of a sacrifice in memory of Abraham's attempted sacrifice of his son. Such central institutions as the pilgrimage and the Kaaba (Caaba) shrine were absorbed, in modified form, from Arabic paganism. The Kaaba already attracted pilgrimages as the most important sanctuary (al-Haram) in pre-Muslim Arabia, and the traditional belief was that was built by Abraham and Ishmael (to whom the Arabs trace their descent), using foundations laid first by Adam, “confirmed” by the Koran. In the southeastern corner of the Kaaba is the Black Stone, supposedly given to Abraham by the angel Gabriel. Also within the precincts of the mosque is the sacred well, called the Zamzam (or Zemzem), which was reputedly used by Hagar, mother of Abraham's son Ishmael. For Muslims, the Kaaba is the “House of Allah,” where the divine touches the mundane. Muhammad, in reforming the pre-Islamic Arabic tradition, also confirmed it. Through centuries, the Kaaba has played an important role as a meeting place of Islamic scholars for the exchange and diffusion of their ideas, and to promote political solidarity in the Muslim world. According to the Koran, men are at the same time “equal to women” and “a degree higher than women”, because men are charged with the household expenditure. The Koran approves polygamy, allowing as many as four wives; however, Muhammad eventually married nine women, including Aisha, the child daughter of his kinsman and early follower Abu Bakr, who was to become the first caliph, or successor to Muhammad. He also took a Christian Coptic slave as a concubine. Muhammad's sons all died in infancy, and the only daughter to survive him was Fatima, who married Ali, the fourth caliph. The abuse of polygamy and of the husband's right in traditional Islam to repudiate his wife, even when her conduct is faultless, has recently led to the enactment of reformed family laws in most Muslim countries” (“Muhammad,” "Mecca," 1994, Microsoft Encarta).

“Theological speculation began soon after Muhammad's death. Although the Koran explicitly denies that Muhammad performed any miracles, his followers soon credited him with many miraculous feats. The story of Muhammad's ascension to heaven from Jerusalem, for instance, seems to have been modeled on the ascension of Jesus. Muhammad's heart, his early followers asserted, was miraculously cleansed of all unworthy thoughts when he was a boy of 12, and he was declared, as were the other prophets, immune from error and able to intercede on the behalf of sinners (these and other’s are in the Sunna, “the example or “the exemplary conduct of the Prophet Muhammad”, the body of Islamic custom, a second body of Islamic law comprising the actions and utterances attributed to the prophet Muhammad, also called the Hadith, “the Way of the Prophet”; unlike the Koran, Hadith is not considered “infallible”, although it is almost equally fundamental for most Muslims. Recent research, not yet accepted by the large body of Muslims, has demonstrated that much of Hadith was not derived from Muhammad, but represents the opinions of the early generations of Muslims, opinions subsequently attributed to “the Prophet”, additions to it were later made by Muslims who wanted to advance certain theological or legal opinions). According to the Koran, Islam is the primordial and universal religion, and even nature itself is Muslim, because it automatically obeys the laws Allah has ingrained in it. Opposing the Bible, the Koran declares that “reforming the earth” is the ideal of human endeavor. Adam was the first prophet; after his expulsion from the Garden of Eden, Allah forgave him his lapse (for this reason Islam does not accept the doctrine of original sin). The profession of Islamic faith (the Shahadah), must be made “by the tongue and with full assent from the heart”, publicly by every Muslim at least once in his or her lifetime: “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet” ("Islam", that means to surrender), 1994, Microsoft Encarta.

“Shiites, when politically defeated and persecuted, became an underground movement and adopted the principles of taqwa (which in this case means “dissimulation of faith”) and of an esoteric interpretation of the Koran. Thus, Shiites believe that beneath the explicit and literal meanings of the Koran are other levels of meaning, which are known only to the imam, who can reveal them only to chosen followers. They also affirm the validity of a form of temporary marriage called muta. Shiites pay the tax called zakat (originally levied by Muhammad to help the poor and later levied by Muslim states) to their religious leaders rather than to state authorities, as they did before achieving political power (for instance, in Iran since the 15th century). As a result, many Shiite leaders in Iran and Iraq have immense wealth and property, as was the Ayatollah Khomeini” ("Shiites," 1994, Microsoft Encarta).

“Although Ismailis subscribe to basic orthodox Islamic doctrines, they also maintain esoteric teachings and corresponding interpretations of the Koran” ("Ismailis," 1994, Microsoft Encarta).

“Modernist Islamic ideas were based on varied plausible interpretations of the Koran, but were bitterly opposed by Islamic fundamentalists, especially after the 1930s, they accused them of being “purveyors of Western morality”. According to the Koran, the fast of Ramadan has been instituted so that believers may cultivate piety; this particular month was designated because it was the month during which Muhammad received the first of the Koran's revelations. The fast begins each day at dawn and ends immediately at sunset. During the fasting, Muslims are forbidden to have sexual intercourse, eat, drink, or smoke. Before retirement each night, special congregational prayers are offered in which long passages of the Koran are recited. The night between the 26th and 27th days of Ramadan, on which the first revelation occurred, is called “the Night of Determination”, during which, according to the Koran, “Allah determines the course of the world for the following year”. The day after the end of Ramadan is called the Fast-Breaking and is celebrated with special prayers and festivities” ("Islam", "Ramadan," etc., 1994, Microsoft Encarta).

In the Qur’an, Jesus (Issa, 'Iesa) is presented as miraculously conceived of Mary, but the Qur’an denies that Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for our sins and for our salvation, and that God raised him from the dead. If Jesus was miraculously conceived beyond every other human, and of course, beyond Muhammad or Abraham, was not so because of his very unique, unsurpassable, and special mission to bring the availability of the fullness of salvation to all the humanity which is going to believe? Jesus kept himself in integrity all the days of his life to provide us such a great salvation.

The Koran denies that Jesus Christ is Lord. For them, Jesus Christ is one more in their list of prophets, taken alive to heaven by Allah, without having accomplished any salvation for that portion of the humanity that believed in him, neither sending holy spirit from on high to give power to the born again believers, making them sons, children of God, and that Jesus Christ is coming to take us away, to us, to the very members of the Body of Christ (either Jews or Gentiles, both fellow-heirs and co-heirs with Christ), yes!, to take us away from this world of corruption!, and that after that, Jesus is coming again to the earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, to rule the whole earth in justice.

This is written in the Quran (foundation of Islam, Moske, Mosque, Mashed, Mashid, Masjed, Masjid, moschee, muskie, musquee, mosquee, moschea, mosqueta, meschita, mezquita, sajada, etc.):

Sura {Surah} 4 (An nísa, An-Nisaa, Al Nisa' (The Women)):157-158:

That they [the Jews] said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus {Messiah  'Iesa} the son of Mary {Maryam}, the Apostle {Messenger} of Allah"; —But they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them [but the resemblance of 'Iesa (Jesus) was put over another man (and they killed that man)], and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not: —Nay, Allah raised him up (with his body and soul) unto Himself (and he is in the heavens); and Allah is Exalted in Power {Allah is Ever All-Powerful}, Wise {and All-Wise}.

The Meaning of the Holy Quran {with the notes found on the NQuranSQ annotated text}, by Yusuf Ali, who says: “blood sacrifice and vicarious atonement for sins, is rejected by Islam” and also that “the Quranic teaching is that Christ was not crucified nor killed by the Jews, notwithstanding certain apparent circumstances which produced that illusion in the minds of some of his enemies,” and “that he was taken up to Allah”. For the Sura 4:158 Ali makes the next Commentary: “There is difference of {Muslims in their} opinion as to the exact interpretation of this verse. The words are: ‘The Jews did not kill Jesus, but Allah raised him up (rafau) to Himself’. One {Muslim} school holds that Jesus did not die the usual human death, but still lives in the body in heaven, which is the generally accepted Muslim view.” The Q’uran that, when compared with the “mission” of Muhammed, “Jesus mission was more limited” (@1234 in Yusuf Ali's Commentary on Yusuf Ali's Translation).

The clear contradiction within the very same pages of the Quran is that in the Surah 4:158 is written that: “Allah raised him (Jesus) up (with his body and soul) unto Himself (and he is in the heavens)”, whereas other surah says that Jesus was going to die:

Surah 19:33 “so peace (salam) is on me (Jesus), The day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again)!”

Ali’s only comment to this contradictory verse inside the Quran is: “Christ was not crucified.”

Jesus Christ was already raised from his real death on the cross, and will never die again! The death of Jesus Christ being born not of man’s seed, but of the seed of the woman, by a special creation of God within her, and dying for our sins, destroyed, paralyzing and inactivating, the devil in his life and in our life:

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he (Jesus) also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14).

“And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen” (Rom. 16:20).

And also:

“And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight” (Col. 1:20-22).

“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:14-15).

The Quran refers to Jesus as ‘the son of Mary’ but never as “the son of God,” Muslims don’t believe that Jesus is the son of God, they take it even as a “blasphemy”, here is what the Quran says about that (granting just for this limited comparison that the words “Allah” and “God” may be “synonym” in the Arabic tongue (although the word Allah means properly in Arabic “al-llah”, “the God”, it is, with the Article “the” intermingled within the word “God”. Even “the pre-Islamic Arabs recognized Allah as the supreme God”, “Islam does not admit of any mediator between Allah and humans” (in: "Allah," Microsoft Encarta, 1994); while the real Allah depicted in the Quran has nothing to do with the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ and of us):

Surah 2:116 They (Jews, Christians and pagans) say: "Allah hath begotten a son" (children or offspring) {Allah hath taken unto Himself a Son}: Glory be to him (Exalted be He above all that they associate with Him) - Nay, to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth: everything renders worship to Him

Surah 9:30 The Jews call Uzair {Ezra} a son of Allah, and the Christians call Christ {Messiah} the son of Allah. That is a saying from their mouth; (in this) they but imitate what the Unbelievers of old used to say. Allah's curse be on them {Allah (himself) fighteth against them}: how they are deluded away from the truth.

Surah 21:26 “And they say: "(Allah) Most Gracious has begotten offspring (a son or children)." Glory to Him! They are (but) servants raised to honour [those whom they call sons or children of Allah i.e. the angels,  'Iesa  (Jesus) son of Maryam (Mary), 'Uzair (Ezra), etc.],”

Surah 72:3 “And exalted is the Majesty of our Lord: (we believe) He has taken neither a wife nor a son (or offspring or children),”

Surah 112:3 “He begetteth not, nor is He begotten,” etc.

Yusuf’s comments:

“@119. It is a derogation from the glory of Allah - in fact it is blasphemy - to say that Allah begets sons, like a man or an animal. The Christian doctrine is here emphatically repudiated. If words have any meaning, it would mean an attribution of Allah of a material nature, and of the lower animal functions of sex… ,” “@5551. “Mary the mother of Jesus... was one of the purest of women, though the Jews accused her falsely of unchastity. As a virgin she gave birth to Jesus… Greek mythology makes Zeus the father of Apollo by Latona or of Minos by Europa. And yet that is the doctrine to which the Christian idea of "the only begotten Son of God" leads”, etc.

But the Bible calls “sons of God (Bene ha-Elohim)” even to the angels in the Old Testament, lets see the KJV followed by the Septuagint in several passages:

Job 1:6: Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them (KJV). And it came to pass on a day, that behold, the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came with them (Septuagint).

Job 2:1: Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD (KJV). And it came to pass on a certain day, that the angels of God came to stand before the Lord, and the devil came among them to stand before the Lord (Septuagint).

Pss 89:6: For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD? (KJV). For who in the heavens shall be compared to the Lord? and who shall be likened to the Lord among the sons of God? (Septuagint).

Gen 6:1-2: And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose (KJV). And it came to pass when men began to be numerous upon the earth, and daughters were born to them, that the angels of God having seen the daughters of men that they were beautiful, took to themselves wives of all whom they chose (Septuagint, Alexandrine Version).

And when one angel is described (in singular):

Dan 3:25: He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like a son of God.

 Etc…

The Quran says that:

Surah 4:86 "Strongest among men in enmity to the Believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans; and nearest among them in love to the Believers wilt thou find those who say, “we are Christians”: because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant."

Surah 2:62 “Those who believe (in the Quran), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians, any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord: on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.”

 

Surah 5:69 “Those who believe (in the Quran), those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Sabians and the Christians, any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the work righteousness, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

 

But then, the opposite is stated in the same book:

 

Surah 5:51 “O ye who believe take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: they are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.”

It is vital for us to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, as the Bible says. His work of salvation and of forgiveness of sins was fulfilled with his death in the cross, and after that, he sent holy spirit to whosoever believes that God raised Jesus from the dead, and confess with his mouth that Jesus is Lord. With such confession, we became also the children and sons of God, filled with all His spiritual power.

The Bible has to say about Jesus being begotten of God:

Ps. 2:7: “I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee (Heb. Yelidtiyka, Gk. gegenneka).”

This is referred to in the New Testament:

Heb 1:5-6: For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten (gegenneka) thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten (prototokon) into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.

Heb. 5:5: So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten (gegenneka) thee.

Regarding Jesus’ unique conception:

Jn. 1:14: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten (monogenos) of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Jn. 1:18: No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten (monogenos) Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

Jn. 3:16: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten (monogenos) Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Jn. 3:18: He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten (monogenos) Son of God.

1 Jn. 4:9: In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten (monogenos) Son into the world, that we might live through him.

Jesus Christ, the only human conceived in such a unique way, by a specific act of creation of the complementary DNA inside one ovum of Mary. The all-powerful creator of the universe could do it because he had since the beginning been announcing it by his trustworthy Word, through His prophecy and through His law for Israel, and even by the way in which he designed the human body!  Is not the sex determinant absent of women? Is not the ovum pool present since the woman is an embryo, but not so sperm in males?  Is not the sperm the one that moves, carrying life and death?  Are not recessive genes a living witness of the fallen nature of men?

Gen. 3:15: And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Lev. 20:23: And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.

Read by yourself all genetic and biologic implications for the things going on in the “civilized” nations surrounding the Israelites, as faithfully described by God in Leviticus chapters 18 to 20 and in the rest of the books of “the Torah,” a living witness against “the customs of the nations.” And today, people wonders on the origin of “inherited diseases” or of “sexually transmitted diseases”, as in San Francisco or in France, while still practicing the same things! The seed of the woman, our promised seed Jesus Christ had to be born of the purer (tamim, like Noah, like Jacob) human stock, even in the ovum that formed him, plus the specific act of God’s creation of the complementary DNA within that ovum!

Also, God gave the specific news to Mary through Gabriel, and she believed in the Word of God (Lk 1:38, 45). See the Biblical text:

Lk. 1:26: And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
Lk. 1:27: To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
Lk. 1:28: And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
Lk. 1:29: And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
Lk. 1:30: And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
Lk. 1:31: And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
Lk. 1:32: He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
Lk. 1:33: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Lk. 1:34: Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
Lk. 1:35: And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Lk. 1:36: And, behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
Lk. 1:37: For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Lk. 1:38: And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

And Elizabeth her cousin told her:

Lk. 1:45: And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

Regarding Jesus Christ’s resurrection:

Acts 13:33: God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten (gegenneka) thee.

Rev. 1:5: And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten (prototokos) of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood

Once raised form the death, Christ Jesus became a vivifying spirit, with full control over matter, according to the will of God. Jesus became with a raised and eternal spiritual body, created by a Spiritual and Eternal being, by God almighty Himself. Jesus is the only one that has been raised from the dead, and not until his second coming anybody else is going to be raised also:

1 Cor. 15:20-26: But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

And of us, as we are born again of holy spirit, it is written:

1 Cor. 4:15: For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten (egennesa) you through the gospel.

Philemon 1:10: I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten (egennesa) in my bonds.

1 Pet. 1:3: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again (anagennesas) unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

1 Jn. 5:1-2: Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born (gegennetai) of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten (gegennemenon) of him. By this we know that we love the children (tekna) of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

1 Jn. 5:18: We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten (genneteis) of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.

When we confess with our mouth that Jesus is our Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised him form the dead (Rom. 10:9-10), we receive salvation, holy spirit from on high, we became born again beings with spirit within, with divine nature, we then became the sons of God:

2 Pet. 1:3-4: According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

And an example on Abraham (as the prophetic shadow of type of what God did in Jesus Christ):

Heb. 11:17: By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten (monogenos) son.

Etc…

Here are some records of the Koran regarding the conception of Jesus Christ:

Surah 4:47 She [Mary] said: "O my Lord! how shall I have a son when no man hath touched me?" He said: "Even so: Allah createth what He willeth: when He hath decreed a Plan, He but saith to it, 'Be', and it is!

 

Surah 19:19-22 He said: "Nay, I am only a messenger from thy Lord, (to announce) to thee the gift of a holy son." She said: "How shall I have a son, seeing that non man has touched me and I am not unchaste?" He said: "So (it will be): Thy Lord saith, 'That is easy for Me: and (We wish) to appoint him as a Sign unto men and a Mercy from Us:' It is a matter (so) decreed." So she conceived him, And she retired with him to a remote place.

 

Surah 21:91 And she who was chaste, therefor We breathed into her (something) of Our spirit and made her and her son a token for (all) peoples (translated by M. M. Pickthall)

 

Surah 66:12 -12- And Mary the daughter of Imran, who guarded her chastity; and We breathed into (her body) of Our spirit: and she testified to the truth of the words of her Lord and of his Revelations, and was one of the devout (servants).

 

Again, even the Q’uran is acknowledging that the conception of Jesus Christ was divine, and without human masculine intervention (though in the Koran the record is “intermingled” with Muhammad’s fantastic imaginations and/or “revelations” from below). Muslims need to consider deeply that, together with Jesus completely perfect life, with his death for our sins, and with his resurrection (as we all acknowledge that he is now already at the right hand of God), is his future second coming to earth. Does all of that not tell something to the thinking Muslims about the uniqueness and greatness of Jesus Christ over every other human that ever have exited and that will ever be over the face of the earth?

Here is the so “blurry” version of the Qu’ran regarding the second coming of Jesus Christ:

Sura 43:61a “And he ['Iesa  (Jesus), son of Maryam  (Mary)] shall be a known sign for (the coming of) the Hour (Day of Resurrection) [i.e. 'Iesa's  (Jesus) descent on the earth]. Therefore have no doubt concerning it (i.e. the Day of Resurrection)” {Meanings of the Holy Quran, NQuranSQ}.

 

Surah 43:61a “And lo! verily there is knowledge of the Hour. So doubt ye not concerning it” {M. M. Pickthall}

 

Surah 43:61a “And (Jesus) shall be a Sign (for the coming of) the Hour (of Judgment): Therefore have no doubt about the (Hour)” {AL ZUKHRUF (The Gold Adornments), Yusuf Ali}

 

43:61ª  “Será un medio de conocer la Hora. ¡No dudéis, pues, de ella!” {El lujo (Az zojrof), “El Noble o Sagrado Corán”}

 

And here is Yusuf’s comment:

 

*2*-43.61: @4662. This is understood to refer to the second coming of Jesus in the Last Days… when he will destroy the false doctrines that pass under his name…

Finally, must be stated that Paul Johnson and Richard E. Rubenstein, as being far from the epicenter of Islam, fail to explain the precise tactics that were in the past and that are now being used for the “explosive” expansion of Islam and of Muslim beliefs, at the tip of the sword and with terrorism, as Allah grants paradise to everybody that sacrifice his life for him, fulfilling the Jihad; see just two suras on jihad followed by Yusuf’s Commentaries:

Jihad (holy war or fighting in Allah's Cause, the struggle for the cause of Islam, Surah 73:20, @5774) Surah 47:4,8 “So, when you meet (in fight Jihad in Allah's Cause), those who disbelieve smite at their necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them, then bind a bond firmly (on them, i.e. take them as captives). Thereafter (is the time) either for generosity (i.e. free them without ransom), or ransom (according to what benefits Islam), until the war lays down its burden. Thus [you are ordered by Allah to continue in carrying out Jihad against the disbelievers till they embrace Islam (i.e. are saved from the punishment in the Hell-fire) or at least come under your protection], but if it had been Allah's Will, He Himself could certainly have punished them (without you). But (He lets you fight), in order to test you, some with others. But those who are killed in the Way of Allah, He will never let their deeds be lost.”  “But those who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allah  Islamic Monotheism), for them is destruction, and  (Allah) will make their  deeds vain” (NQuranSQ).

 

Yusuf’s explanations: @4820. When once the fight (Jihad) is entered upon, carry it out with the utmost vigour, and strike home your blows at the most vital points (smite at their necks), both literally and figuratively. You cannot wage war with kid gloves, @4883. Jihad is hard striving, in war and peace, in the Cause of Allah, @4890. All who obey the call to Jihad with perfect discipline will get the Rewards of the Hereafter, @274. Jihad. We are to be under no illusion about it. If we are not prepared to fight for our faith, with our lives and all our resources, both our lives and our resources will be wiped out by our enemies. As to life, Allah gave it, and a coward is not likely to save it, @614 In a time of jihad, when people give their all, and even their lives, for the common cause, they must be accounted more glorious than those who sit at home, even though they have good will to the cause and carry out minor duties in aid. The special reward of such self-sacrifice is special forgiveness and mercy, as proceeding from the direct approbation and love of Allah. @1190. The laws of Jihad are exactly similar to those enforced by military virtue and discipline. Meet your enemy fairly and squarely, not rashly, but after due preparation. Zahfan in the text (meeting in hostile array) implies a slow and well-planned proceeding towards a hostile army. When once in combat, carry it through: there is no room for second thoughts. Death or victory should be the motto of every soldier: it may be death for himself individually, but if he has faith, there is triumph in either case for his cause. Two exceptions are recognised: (1) reculer pour mieux sauter, to go back in order to jump forward; or to deceive the enemy by a feint; (2) if an individual or body is, by the chances of battle, isolated from his own force, he can fall back on his force in order to fight the battle. There is no virtue in mere single-handedness. Each individual must use his life and his resources to the best advantage for the common cause. @1234. a Jihad is fought under strict conditions laid down by Islam, and solely for the cause of Allah, @1270. Here is it good description of Jihad. It may require fighting in Allah's cause, its a form of self-sacrifice. But its essence consists in (1) a true and sincere Faith, which so fixes its gaze on Allah, that all selfish or worldly motives seem paltry and fade away, and (2) an earnest and ceaseless activity, involving the sacrifice (if need be) of life, person, or property, in the service of Allah… the sincere scholar's pen or preacher's voice or wealthy man's contributions may be the most valuable forms of Jihad, @1373. Fighting may be inevitable, and where a call is made by the ruler of an Islamic State, it should be obeyed. But fighting is not to be glorified to the exclusion of all else. Even among those who are able to go forth, a party should remain behind-for purposes of study, so that when the fighters return home, their minds may be attuned again to the more normal interests of religious life, under properly instructed teachers. The students and teachers are soldiers of the Jihad in their spirit of obedience and discipline, @3503. The Way of Allah (sirat-ul-Mustaqim) is a Straight Way. But men have strayed from it in all directions. And there are numerous Paths by which they can get back to the Right Way, the way in which the purity of their own nature, and the Will and Mercy of Allah require them to Walk. All these numerous Paths become open to them if once they give their hearts in keeping to Allah and work in right Endeavour (Jihad) with all their mind and soul and resources. Thus will they get out of the Spider's web of this frail world and attain to eternal Bliss in the fulfillment of their true Destiny.

 

The concept of jihad has nevertheless, been used by Muslim rulers to justify wars motivated by purely political ambitions. According to classical Islamic law, the world was divided into three zones: the House of Islam, where Muslims are ascendant; the House of Peace, those powers with whom Muslims have peace agreements; and “the House of War”, which is the rest of the world (!) (“Islam,” 1994, Microsoft Encarta).

 

Versus:

 

“Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice” (Jn. 18:36-37).

“And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world… Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him” (Jn. 8:23,28-29).

This is the trustworthy prophecy regarding Ishmael and his posterity, as we read it in Genesis (and of which the daily “news” give witness), revealed ~1913 B.C.:

 

“And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren” (Gen. 16:12).

 

Old and “typical news” of splintering groups based in the Koran (and its jihad), following after the criminal steps of its founder:

 

“Yasir Arafat’s “Palestine Liberation Organization” (PLO), a political group that represents Palestinian Arabs through the actions of its affiliated guerrilla groups has earned an international reputation as a terrorist organization. At the foundation of many of the PLO guerrilla actions is the concept of jihad, or holy war. According to the Koran, it is acceptable to use armed force, if necessary, in the “reformation” of the world. Muhammad, the founder of Islam and called “the messenger of Allah”, first introduced the jihad as a means of conquering (and converting) other religious groups, as well as unifying the separate Islamic tribes against their intrusion” (Source: UPI/Bettmann).

 

“A splinter group of Ismailis, known to Westerners as Assassins, established a stronghold in the mountains of northern Iran in the 12th century and carried out terrorist acts of assassination against important religious and political leaders of Sunni Islam” ("Ismailis," 1994, Microsoft Encarta).

 

“Wahhabi warriors, members of “a puritanical Muslim reform movement” that begun by the conservative Syrian jurist Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703-92), a movement “faithful to the Koran and to the Hadith”, successfully attacked and purged the Islamic shrine at Karbala and the cities of Riyadh, Mecca, and Medina in the early years of the 19th century” ("Wahhabis," 1994, Microsoft Encarta).


Let Us Remember Correctly Terror "In The Name Of Allah". M. Malkin, Outlook, Houston Chronicle, Sunday, Sept 12,2004.

On the third anniversary of Sept. 11, we remain at war - and the media remain in denial [Note of the Editor: It is clearer by 2009 that 9/11 was a Zionist black operation that blamed muslims].

How many times have you picked up a newspaper and read about terrorist attacks perpetrated not by Muslim terrorists, but by generic "militants" or "guerrillas" or "rebels" or, as Mideast scholar Daniel Pipes noted the Pakistan Times called them, "activists"?

… Media whitewashing of our Islamofascist enemies…

A Nexis search of the terms "al-Qaida" and "religious" and "cult" in the New York Times for the year 2004 yielded just one article - a magazine piece in March.

The mainstream media pounded President Bush for trying to explain that the War on Terror is unwinnable in a conventional sense.

The mainstream press itself proves the president's point every time its reporters disguise the deadly fanatical nature of our opponents in this global war.

How are we to win a war against blood-spattered enemies whom our own free press continues to protect through politically correct sanitization? It wasn't no-name militants or wayward guerrillas who have butchered, beheaded and slaughtered thousands of innocents over the last three years alone.

Anniversary reality check:

In the name of Allah, Muslim terrorists in Russia stabbed babies to death, shot toddlers in the back, forced children to eat rose petals and drink their own urine, raped teenage girls, executed their teachers and blew themselves up in a crowded school gymnasium. Death toll: 339.

In the name of Allah, Muslim terrorists in Spain detonated bombs on four commuter trains during Madrid's rush hour. Death toll: 190.

In the name of Allah, Muslim terrorists in Bali blew up a beach resort with an electronically triggered bomb at one bar and a car bomb hidden in a van at another nightclub filled with young Western tourists on holiday. Death toll: 202.

In the name of Allah, Muslim terrorists in Pakistan kidnapped and beheaded American journalist Daniel Pearl.

In the name of Allah, Muslim terrorists in Saudi Arabia kidnapped and beheaded American engineer Paul Johnson.

In the name of Allah, Muslim terrorists in Iraq kidnapped and beheaded American independent contractor Nick Berg.

In the name of Allah, Muslim terrorists in Iraq kidnapped and executed Italian security guard Fabrizio Quattrocchi.

In the name of Allah, Muslim terrorists in the Philippines kidnapped and killed American missionary Martin Burnham.

In the name of Allah, Muslim terrorists in Israel engineered near-simultaneous suicide attacks on two buses, killing at least 15 people.

In the name of Allah, Muslim terrorists in Morocco waged suicide-bombing attacks in Casablanca.

In the name of Allah, Muslim terrorists in Turkey bombed synagogues and the British consulate.

In the name of Allah, Muslim terrorists in America hijacked and incinerated three planes full of men, women and firefighters in smoke-filled stairways, and forced office workers to leap 99 stories to their deaths after saying final prayers from the ledges of the World Trade Center on a peaceful September morning. Death toll: 3,000.

They tell us to "never forget."

First, let's stop misremembering.

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To see "The Hidden Advanced Aircraft of Bush's Black Operation 9/11", go to: http://911stealth.blogspot.com/2006/09/hidden-advanced-aircraft-of-bushs.html and to http://www.youtube.com/911stealth

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Thomas Jefferson versus the Doctrine of the Trinity

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As it is stated elsewhere:

 

“To attempt to eradicate terrorism without acknowledging its religious dimensions and motivations is blindly foolish... we need to do the honest assessment of the role of Islamic fundamentalism on the terrorist's mind.”

 

“God, who is love, has enthroned goodness in the very way He made the world, and evil can only ultimately bow before it in grudging servitude... to overcome evil teaching with good and healthy teaching... the integrity of the Scriptures and a living relationship with the true God through His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord.”

 

“Let us pray that the sound Biblical teaching of Only One God and Only One Man’s Redeemer can be translated into Arabic and begin to infiltrate the countries of the Middle East. The lives thus saved may be diverted from a path of terrorism to a path of salvation, and the rise of Islam dwarfed by the rise of disciplined followers of Jesus Christ, in what are now Islamic countries. It could happen. The Devil knows it, and has struck a blow against the possibility. That energizes me to redouble my efforts to get the Word out as quickly as possible to every corner of the globe. And I'm sure my desire to see that happen is dwarfed by the same desire in our Leader’s will, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

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To go to the main text: http://www.oocities.org/fdocc3/in-my-name.htm


Tasters of the Word (YouTube), videos recientes: "Astronomía y Nacimiento de Jesucristo: Once de Septiembre Año Tres A.C.", "Estudio sobre Sanidades" (en 20 episodios), "Jesus Christ, Son or God?" and "We've the Power to Heal":http://www.youtube.com/1fertra


Tasters of the Word (the blog, with: "Astronomy and the Birth of Jesus Christ"):http://fertra1.blogspot.com

 

And a commercial before we go:

Window Cleaning of Ronnie Petree, where my wife works (smile): Good Looking Glass of Houston (serving also at: Katy, Surgarland, Conroe, Kingwood, Woodlands, Galveston).